Jetty Grove is the project of Baltimore based musician Joey Tabak. His latest E.P. “Fish In Water” showcases Tabak’s ability to combine beautiful atmospheric textures with brilliant songwriting.
I caught up with Joey to talk about his early musical experiences, how he started writing songs and the making of the new E.P.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Joey-I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I became obsessed with The Beatles and Bob Dylan at a very young age and they have both been hugely influential for as long as I can remember. Most of the artists from that era I learned about from my older brother who was also really into music. As I got older and started finding music on my own, I discovered with Mac Miller and really resonated with him. That was in middle school and I still love his music to this day. It was cool because he was the first artist I really connected with on my own.
CMM-How did you start writing songs and developing your own sound?
Joey-I started out making music by just layering a ton of keyboards in GarageBand trying to make really psychedelic stuff. I’ve been writing lyrics and poetry since I was a kid but it took a while to find the confidence I needed to sing. I kind of forced myself to get over that fear because I fell in love with the songwriting process and wanted to be able to share what I was writing.
It took a while to find my sound, but I think it’s still evolving. It has definitely changed over the course of the time I’ve been releasing music and I think I am getting closer to the sounds I envision in my head.
CMM-You recently released an E.P. called “By The Lights”. What was the writing and recording process like and were there any particular pieces of gear you used to get the sound you all were looking for?
Joey-The songs on “by the lights” are from a few different times over the past year or so. The first song, “guilty conscience,” was written and recorded almost entirely in one day in July 2025. The second track, “splash,” is very recent. It was finished just days before I put the EP on Bandcamp. The last song, “fisherman,” is from about a year ago, maybe January of 2025.
My process usually starts with writing the song (chords, melody, and lyrics) with an acoustic guitar. I like to have the song fully written and arranged before I start recording. I home record and play all the instruments myself. I also do my own mixing. I have a pretty simple setup in my basement and don’t have a lot of gear, but I recently started using more effects pedals. I got a Big Muff that’s on “guilty conscience” and “splash,” and I love its fuzz tone. There’s also a ZVEX Lofi Junky which is all over the lead guitars on those same two tracks.
CMM-If you could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Joey-That’s a good question. I think it would be cool to score a film for Charlie Kaufman. I love his surrealist style and surrealist art in general, and I relate to a lot of the themes in his films.
CMM-Anything coming up?
Joey-I will hopefully have cassettes of “by the lights” with some extra songs coming out soon. I also have a single coming out on December 19th called “Rolling Punches,” featuring saxophone from an amazing musician named Jay Fenner. You can pre-save the song here.
